Last Love
by Sammy-Batman
Summary: Sometimes, there are things in life that you just can't change. No matter how much you love someone, they will always be the same person. Given these situations, you need to grasp what is right in front of you and never let it go, because eventually it will vanish. And you don't want that to happen. Ever.


Last Love

Summary:

Sometimes, there are things in life that you just can't change. No matter how much you love someone, they will always be the same person. Given these situations, you need to grasp what is right in front of you and never let it go, because eventually it will vanish. And you don't want that to happen. Ever.

For Nate

Chapter 1

"Do we really have to go? You could find another job here and I could work at Uncle Harry's shop. Please, mom. We don't have to leave. I'm begging you." Nick was doing his best to convince him mom not to sign those papers that sold their house that he had been living in for his entire life to some other family that they didn't even know. His mother just looked at him with her eyebrows slanted inward and her mouth tilted to one side. "Nick, you know I can't do that. I know this is hard for you, but it has to be done. Trust me, can you do that?" she slowly reached for the pen and signed the papers regardless of what Nick's answer was going to be.

Her hand was shaking and it showed in her scribbly signature. She wasn't happy about the move either, but she knew that she needed to stay strong for her only son. Her lips curved into a fake smile and she slid the bulging stack of papers over to their real estate agent. Nick's heart sank and he felt as if his mother had betrayed him and all he stood for. He would have done anything to stay in South Carolina where all of his friends that he grew up with were. He felt like he belonged there, and he was worried that he wouldn't belong anywhere anymore.

He stood up suddenly and pushed the glass door open to the small, enclosed room they were seated in. As he walked out, he realized that his mother wasn't following him. She just sat in her uncomfortable wooden chair and didn't move an inch. Nick didn't know what she was waiting for, but couldn't care less at the moment. He continued to walk until he reached the front of the building.

He saw all these happy people sitting against the wall waiting to be invited to the back. As he looked around, he noticed that nobody realized that as soon as they signed those stupid papers, their lives will be ruined and taken from them the instant that pen touched right above the thick black line with an X in front of it. Although he was intrigued that all of these people were oblivious, he had to leave this place. He had to abandon it and never return, for it is a place that crushes dreams and gives no forgiveness.

Nick found himself running down the sidewalk the second he thought about his real home. He just ran and ran until he finally got there.

His real home.

His knees hit the hard earth and his hands slammed against the overgrown grass that he hadn't mown the previous weekend, even though his mother had insisted that the house look nice for the new family to move into. Pretty soon he found himself thinking about his father. The father he never knew. The father that is only known by photograph and stories told by his mom. Nick never knew what his personality was like or if he was smart or if he was caring. But there was one thing for sure, he was real mysterious.

He remembers his mom telling him about the day that he left them. She was about four months pregnant with him, and she was coming home from the grocery store. He had packed up all of him things and was gone, just like that. He left a note on her bedside table that read, "Dear Helen, I know this is a horrible thing for me to do to our future family, but I have no choice. Tell our dear, dear Nick that I love him and that I will never forget him. I'm not telling you where I am heading off to, because I don't want you to find me. I need a fresh start and I don't think I should be in your life. Goodbye. I love you, forever and always. - Nicholas." He had left his wedding ring on top of the letter, along with a picture of them together.

Helen doesn't know why he left her, but her money's on another girl. Since then, she has raised Nick on her own and hasn't made an effort to find another love.

While all these thoughts are racing through Nick's head, his best friend, Jake, walks up and takes a knee next to him and waits for him to wake back up into the present and leave the past behind. Jake gently puts his hand on Nick's shoulder and says in his calmest tone, "Hey, buddy. You okay?"

After a while, Nick looks up and his face is noticeably red and blotchy from the tears that were shed. "No, not even close. My mom just signed our house off to some other family. This house ain't ours anymore. It's all gone." Hearing these words made Jake's heart race. He had been trying to take all this in as much as Nick was. They had been best friends since birth practically. His mom was a close friend of Nick's. When Jake found out that his lifelong brother was leaving, he broke down.

"It's alright, man. I promise, I'll visit every summer and holiday. I don't think I could ever forget you", Nick could tell the change of expression in Jake's face. "Damn right!" he laughed and smiled just a smudge. They stood back up and Nick wiped his unwanted tears away. "You know, I'm really gonna miss this place, smell and all", Nick tried to keep the happy mood alive, but he failed, because his mother drove up to the sidewalk.

She got out of the car and joined them. Everyone just stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Nick spoke up, "How did you know I was here?" She situated her stare from Jake to her son. "Just a wild guess. What's Jake doing here?" Jake felt a little unwanted and decided that he wanted to spare the awkwardness and just dismiss himself. "Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Hemsworth. I didn't mean to intrude. I'll get going. Nice seeing you, Nick", he blurted and hustled the opposite direction.

"No! You weren't intruding. Nick needs you now, you can stay. Would you like to join us for dinner tonight? We are going out to eat at The Courtyard," Helen offered. Surprised, Jake turned back around and nervously smiled. "Oh, no thanks. You don't need to be wasting money on me. But may I ask, where are you guys staying tonight? Nick told me that you guys just officially sold the house." Helen paused for a moment and looked down insecurely. "We are staying in a hotel for tonight, then we're on our way bright an early in the morning to the new house", she used her hands to indicate which direction they would be traveling tomorrow. "You guys don't have to stay at a hotel and pay for a room. Just come stay at my place. We'll cook you up something real good", Jake discreetly winked at Nick and smiled.

Helen's eyes lit up and a wide grin spread across her face but was quickly interrupted by her concern and the expression vanished. "I bet your momma wouldn't like us intruding into your privacy without her say in it," she pleaded, but Jake insisted. "No, no, she wouldn't mind at all. Besides, I think she would love your company before you leave us forever. She's taking this real hard too, you know." He had made a good point, and Helen seemed to have her arm twisted. "Oh, alright, but we are gonna leave the instant she disapproves", she says, shaking her finger lazily at him.

She was exhausted and worn out and relieved that she could spend some time with her close friend, Myrna. The three of them got in the car and drove to Jake's house. The sun was setting quickly and the sky portrayed magnificent colors of pink and purple and blue and orange. Nick took one last glance at his house through the rear window and never looked back the rest of the long drive.

When they arrived at Jake's house around seven o' clock, Nick and his mom got out and stayed at the end of the sidewalk in front of the house and waited for Jake's mom to walk out and approve of their stay for the night. As Jake walked out of the front door, Helen saw Myrna close behind him. They opened their arms wide and ran towards each other. Helen hugged Myrna so tight that her eyes started watering. "Girl, why are you leaving me?" Myrna asked her after she eventually broke free of her grasp.

Helen sighed and her shoulders slumped down. "Oh, you don't give me a lecture on leaving people. Nick's already done that plenty of times", she spoke, a soft roughness in her voice. Nick looked away bashfully. "Well, it's true. Why are you doing this to us? How many years have you lived here, 37?" Myrna asked, counting on her fingers. "Yup, I moved here when I was 3 years old, Myrna. We've been through this. Don't keep reminding me how old I am", Helen nudged her shoulder. Myrna sighed loudly. "40 ain't that old. I'm only 38 but I feel like I am a hundred! I think it's this boy getting to me", she smiled and gave a big glare to Jake. He smiled, knowing that he had given her a hard time over the past couple of years.

They laughed and Myrna led them inside to get settled. "So you guys don't have anything that you're taking with you?" Myrna asked, looking at their empty hands. "Nope, we are starting over completely. And besides, those old sofas were nasty. I think we're gonna get some of them nice ones with the recliners on the ends", Helen thought back to those dirty old couches that used to belong to her grandmother. They had been passed down, and she had finally gotten tired of them. "Well, okay then. Looks like you're done settling in, doesn't it? What do ya'll want for supper?" she asked, making her way towards the kitchen. Their house was very large and spacey. A lot of the time, Nick would get lost when he was at Jake's house for the weekend.

"Food would be preferably nice", Nick, with his smart aleck self, stated. Jake found it amusing, but Nick's mother did not. "We would appreciate anything, Myrna. You're so good to us", she said, making her eyes bulge out of her skull staring at Nick. "I'll whip somethin' up real quick then. How about grilled cheese and tomato soup? That's Nick's favorite when he spends the night", Myrna thought that it was a brilliant idea. "Perfect", Helen said, joining her in the kitchen. Nick and Jake had already left the bottom story and were stomping their way up the stairs into Jake's room to look at some new footage he had caught.

Jake was the high school's photographer, and he was assigned to tape the cheerleaders during practice to put in the End of the Year video. He was very talented, to say the least. Jake had won awards from local companies. He was also selling his work in other parts of the country from his online website. Of course, he was known as the school's dork, but to Nick, he was an amazing guy who needed someone there to have his back. But now, he wouldn't have anybody, and Nick was worried about what was going to happen to him after he left. Nick was one to know, there were many bullies at Georgia High School. Ever since Nick began to stick up for Jake, he didn't have as many problems.

Nick was the high school football star, and everyone was confused as to why he chose Jake to be his best friend. Some thought that it was for the benefits of Jake's wealth, because they all knew that Nick wasn't the richest. Others thought it was for help on homework and cheating. The two of them didn't care what those people thought of their friendship. Only they had to know what it meant. And that was all that mattered.

"Dude, I wish I had your job. Is this all you do in your spare time? If I taped the cheerleaders and got paid, I wouldn't leave for nothing", Nick commented while they were watching the video on Jake's brand new Canon video recorder/camera. The girls in uniform gathered into a circle and one by one, girls were thrown into the air, making shapes of a letter with their arms to spell out 'tigers'. Although Nick enjoyed watching the footage, Jake took his job very seriously. He acted maturely, unlike Nick, and that's how he kept is job and was assigned to do this specific task.

"Okay, that's enough. I think I see some drool there, buddy. Just don't ruin the camera", Jake took the camera away from him. "Oh, shut up, man. I don't know how you do it. You don't get into this stuff at all?" Nick had always been in awe at how Jake tried so hard to stay professional. "Eh, I've had to get cheerleading footage every year. Same old, same old", he sighed, putting the camera back in its original case that had a nice strap that he swung around his neck when he was on the job. He thought it made him look hot.

"I guess so. Hey, what's this?" Nick was looking at his desk, cluttered with scattered, random objects and found a scrapbook. The front cover said, 'Nick & Jake', and there was a picture of them together at a campfire they went to a few years ago underneath it. Nick had pointed out at one time that that was his favorite picture of them. "Oh, yeah, good thing you found that. I had forgotten all about it", Jake grabbed the book from him and opened it up to the first page. "I made this for you to take with you, just to make sure our memories would never die", he smiled at the picture of them at Nick's 13 birthday party. That was the first year they had met. Jake had cupcake icing all over his face from Nick throwing a few at him.

"This is really cool, Jake. Thanks", Nick was admiring the careful construction he had put into the design of the pages. "Oh, no problem. It's just a token of my appreciation towards our friendship", Jake looked up at Nick and gave him a genuine smile. Nick could see the tears form a puddle at the bottom of his eyes. They both new that their friendship would be torn apart when Nick relocated 883 miles away. "It's gonna be okay, Jake. I swear", Nick set the book back down on his desk and gave Jake a well-needed hug. They stood there, not wanting to let go of each other.

Myrna knocked on the door frame and it startled them, forcing them to stop hugging. Jake wiped his eyes and sniffed. "Sorry, boys, just wanted to let you know that dinner's ready. Come down when you're ready", she turned around to go back down stairs. "Oh, I'm starved. We're coming down right now", Jake was trying to make it sound like everything was okay. It was not okay. The three of them went downstairs greeted by the smell of homemade tomato soup. There were 5 bowls setting on the counter, but Helen left one empty. "When is your hubby comin' home tonight?" she asked. Myrna's husband, Jeff, usually worked late on Fridays. That's the day that he sorts out all the schedules, meetings, cases, and all that good stuff. He owned his own private investigating service, Jeff Dee's Private Investigator Services.

"Not 'til 10. Just leave it empty. I think he can manage to pour his own soup for once. I've been waitin' on that man for the whole 8 years of our marriage. I'm not sure if he knows how to pour his own bowl of soup", Myrna laughed and put the bowl back in the cupboard. "There's always a first for everything", Helen smiled, taking out 4 spoons and placing them on the dining room table.

"Hey mom, we were thinking that maybe we could play on the Xbox tonight, since, you know, it may be the last time possibly", Jake was proud of his new Xbox, and wanted to show off his skills in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. "After dinner, I guess", Myrna looked at the boys' eager faces. "Well? Hurry up and eat then. Come on." They sat down at the table and immediately began dipping their grilled cheese sandwiches in the soup, making the bread soggy and the melted cheese string out into Picasso shapes on the surface.

About 15 minutes passed and their bowls were empty. Myrna began to do the dishes. Helen offered to help, but she was persistent in her resistance. So, Helen sat at the dinner table and continued their conversation. Jake raced up to their game room and turned on the game console. "You played this one before, Nick?" Jake asked him, taking the disc out of the case and placing it in the console and pushing it back in. "No, just the first one. Been wanting to play this one, though", he answered, rubbing his hand across the side of the pool table.

"Remember when we used to play this thing all night. I don't think we ever finished our last game, now that I think about it", Nick smiled, twirling the stick in between his fingers. Jake walked over to him and thought about it for a minute. "You're right. I don't think it's right for you to leave a game unfinished. What do you say we finish it after we're done on the Xbox?" he looked Nick straight in the eye. "Sounds like a deal", Nick heard the techno sound of the TV screen responding to the game being turned on. A bright green swirl design flashed across the large screen, lighting up the entire room.

"Okay, you get Ghost, and I call Soap", Jake said, selecting his player and Nick selecting his. "You're dead, man", Jake joked around as they played the first round. "Speak for yourself", Nick snapped back, laughing. They competed for 2 hours until Jake finally accepted the fact that Nick was a really fast learner and beat him in every round.

"You ready for that game of pool?" Nick asked, getting out of the bean bag and turning off the console. "Hell yeah. You're gonna get your ass kicked", Jake walked over to the table and looked at the balls that remained in the same positions they left them a week ago. "We'll see about that", Nick began to chalk his stick.

Nick hit the ball first, and he got his striped ball into the corner hole. They took turns back and forth, until it was down to Jake having 2 solids and Nick having 1 striped. This was the first time that Nick had been in the lead this close to the end of the game. Nick noticed Jake start to get a bit worried as he aligned the stick with the white ball with one of his solid balls that he thought had the best chance in getting into the hole. He shot it and he missed. Jake let out a huge sigh of anger. Nick smirked, and began to make his move. Jake was pacing along the wall, in hope of Nick missing and Jake having another shot at beating him. When he heard the balls hit against each other, his eyes followed it as it zig-zagged across the table and… into the hole, leaving Jake with 2 balls and Nick with none. Nick cheered and slapped Jake on the shoulder. "Hey, it's just a game. And besides, I think it was very appropriate for me to win our last game, since, you know, I never have, ever", he stared back at the table, still inhaling his victory. "Yeah, yeah. You'll have to come back sometime just so you can see me win one last time", Jake laughed, placing the balls back into the triangular holder.

"Whatever you say", Nick put his stick back into the slot situated on the wall. Once they were done picking up, they just stood there in the middle of the room staring at each other. "Now what?" Jake asked, looking around the room at the multiple games and activities they could do. Nick looked at his watch, which read 10:07. "I think your dad will be here any minute. Why don't we go down and see him. Then we'll come back up and decide what's next", Nick suggested. He and Jake's father had always been really close. He was like the dad Nick never had. When he got home from work early the days Nick was there, the three of them would go in the backyard and play basketball or toss the football around. Jake wasn't really good at sports, but he was getting better from the teachings of his father and Nick. That was another thing that was going to be lost once Nick moved away.

"Sounds good. I would imagine that he would want to see you before you leave. I don't think he will want to get up that early on a weekend", Jake laughed, thinking about the time when he woke his dad up at eight in the morning on a Saturday. "Son, a working man needs his sleep after a long week, so I don't think it's a good idea that you wake me up on my free-days this early, because it won't be pretty", he had said, shooing him back into his room and falling back asleep the moment the door was shut and the room returned to complete darkness.

Nick heard a loud noise and looked over at the door. The handle turned and Jeff stood in the doorway. "Mr. Dee!" Nick exclaimed, rushing to him. "We were just about to go down and see if you were home." "Well, here I am. How you doing, son?" he glanced at Jake, but was referring to Nick. That was how it always was. Jeff had pictured his son being more like Nick, so he often dwelled over him instead of his real son, who often felt alone and somewhat jealous. At times, he began to rethink Nick being his friend, because in a way, he was making his relationship with his father worse than it already started out as. Jeff didn't support him not participating in sports and replacing it with clubs with the nerds and extra-curricular activities. Nick, on the other hand, enjoyed Jeff calling him son. He often referred to the Dee family has his own; Jake as his brother, Myrna and Jeff as his parents, and, of course, Helen as his real mother. Nick never noticed Jeff ignoring Jake, he was simply just happy that Jeff gave him that much attention.

"I'm doing well, sir. Jake and I just finished a game of pool." Jake was expecting his dad to smother Nick once he found out that he finally beat him. "Oh, really? Who won this time?" he looked at Jake, expecting to hear his name, but his eyes widened and returned to Nick when he said, "I did". "Good job, Nick. Hey, better luck next time, Jake", was all his father said. At first, Jake was enlightened by this statement of encouragement, but his heart sank as the words sank with it. 'Next time', he thought. There may not be a next time.

"So, I heard that you and your mother are leaving early in the morning to Oklahoma already. I didn't know that you guys would be leaving so soon", Jeff was disappointed that those games of basketball would end after Nick left. "Yeah, we just signed off the house and the new house is waiting for us.

10


End file.
